---
title: Markdown and MDX
nav_title: MDX
description: Learn how to configure MDX and use it in your Next.js apps.
---

{/* The content of this doc is shared between the app and pages router. You can use the `<PagesOnly>Content</PagesOnly>` component to add content that is specific to the Pages Router. Any shared content should not be wrapped in a component. */}

[Markdown](https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax) is a lightweight markup language used to format text. It allows you to write using plain text syntax and convert it to structurally valid HTML. It's commonly used for writing content on websites and blogs.

You write...

```md
I **love** using [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/)
```

Output:

```html
<p>I <strong>love</strong> using <a href="https://nextjs.org/">Next.js</a></p>
```

[MDX](https://mdxjs.com/) is a superset of markdown that lets you write [JSX](https://react.dev/learn/writing-markup-with-jsx) directly in your markdown files. It is a powerful way to add dynamic interactivity and embed React components within your content.

Next.js can support both local MDX content inside your application, as well as remote MDX files fetched dynamically on the server. The Next.js plugin handles transforming markdown and React components into HTML, including support for usage in Server Components (the default in App Router).

> **Good to know**: View the [Portfolio Starter Kit](https://vercel.com/templates/next.js/portfolio-starter-kit) template for a complete working example.

## Install dependencies

The `@next/mdx` package, and related packages, are used to configure Next.js so it can process markdown and MDX. **It sources data from local files**, allowing you to create pages with a `.md` or `.mdx` extension, directly in your `/pages` or `/app` directory.

Install these packages to render MDX with Next.js:

```bash filename="Terminal"
npm install @next/mdx @mdx-js/loader @mdx-js/react @types/mdx
```

## Configure `next.config.mjs`

Update the `next.config.mjs` file at your project's root to configure it to use MDX:

```js filename="next.config.mjs"
import createMDX from '@next/mdx'

/** @type {import('next').NextConfig} */
const nextConfig = {
  // Configure `pageExtensions` to include markdown and MDX files
  pageExtensions: ['js', 'jsx', 'md', 'mdx', 'ts', 'tsx'],
  // Optionally, add any other Next.js config below
}

const withMDX = createMDX({
  // Add markdown plugins here, as desired
})

// Merge MDX config with Next.js config
export default withMDX(nextConfig)
```

This allows `.md` and `.mdx` files to act as pages, routes, or imports in your application.

## Add an `mdx-components.tsx` file

Create an `mdx-components.tsx` (or `.js`) file in the root of your project to define global MDX Components. For example, at the same level as `pages` or `app`, or inside `src` if applicable.

```tsx filename="mdx-components.tsx" switcher
import type { MDXComponents } from 'mdx/types'

export function useMDXComponents(components: MDXComponents): MDXComponents {
  return {
    ...components,
  }
}
```

```js filename="mdx-components.js" switcher
export function useMDXComponents(components) {
  return {
    ...components,
  }
}
```

> **Good to know**:
>
> - `mdx-components.tsx` is **required** to use `@next/mdx` with App Router and will not work without it.
> - Learn more about the [`mdx-components.tsx` file convention](/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/mdx-components).
> - Learn how to [use custom styles and components](#using-custom-styles-and-components).

## Rendering MDX

You can render MDX using Next.js's file based routing or by importing MDX files into other pages.

### Using file based routing

When using file based routing, you can use MDX pages like any other page.

<AppOnly>

In App Router apps, that includes being able to use [metadata](/docs/app/building-your-application/optimizing/metadata).

Create a new MDX page within the `/app` directory:

```txt
  my-project
  ├── app
  │   └── mdx-page
  │       └── page.(mdx/md)
  |── mdx-components.(tsx/js)
  └── package.json
```

</AppOnly>

<PagesOnly>

Create a new MDX page within the `/pages` directory:

```txt
  my-project
  |── mdx-components.(tsx/js)
  ├── pages
  │   └── mdx-page.(mdx/md)
  └── package.json
```

</PagesOnly>

You can use MDX in these files, and even import React components, directly inside your MDX page:

```mdx
import { MyComponent } from 'my-component'

# Welcome to my MDX page!

This is some **bold** and _italics_ text.

This is a list in markdown:

- One
- Two
- Three

Checkout my React component:

<MyComponent />
```

Navigating to the `/mdx-page` route should display your rendered MDX page.

### Using imports

<AppOnly>

Create a new page within the `/app` directory and an MDX file wherever you'd like:

```txt
  my-project
  ├── app
  │   └── mdx-page
  │       └── page.(tsx/js)
  ├── markdown
  │   └── welcome.(mdx/md)
  |── mdx-components.(tsx/js)
  └── package.json
```

</AppOnly>

<PagesOnly>

Create a new page within the `/pages` directory and an MDX file wherever you'd like:

```txt
  my-project
  ├── pages
  │   └── mdx-page.(tsx/js)
  ├── markdown
  │   └── welcome.(mdx/md)
  |── mdx-components.(tsx/js)
  └── package.json
```

</PagesOnly>

You can use MDX in these files, and even import React components, directly inside your MDX page:

```mdx filename="markdown/welcome.mdx" switcher
import { MyComponent } from 'my-component'

# Welcome to my MDX page!

This is some **bold** and _italics_ text.

This is a list in markdown:

- One
- Two
- Three

Checkout my React component:

<MyComponent />
```

Import the MDX file inside the page to display the content:

<AppOnly>

```tsx filename="app/mdx-page/page.tsx" switcher
import Welcome from '@/markdown/welcome.mdx'

export default function Page() {
  return <Welcome />
}
```

```jsx filename="app/mdx-page/page.js" switcher
import Welcome from '@/markdown/welcome.mdx'

export default function Page() {
  return <Welcome />
}
```

</AppOnly>

<PagesOnly>

```tsx filename="pages/mdx-page.tsx" switcher
import Welcome from '@/markdown/welcome.mdx'

export default function Page() {
  return <Welcome />
}
```

```jsx filename="pages/mdx-page.js" switcher
import Welcome from '@/markdown/welcome.mdx'

export default function Page() {
  return <Welcome />
}
```

</PagesOnly>

Navigating to the `/mdx-page` route should display your rendered MDX page.

## Using custom styles and components

Markdown, when rendered, maps to native HTML elements. For example, writing the following markdown:

```md
## This is a heading

This is a list in markdown:

- One
- Two
- Three
```

Generates the following HTML:

```html
<h2>This is a heading</h2>

<p>This is a list in markdown:</p>

<ul>
  <li>One</li>
  <li>Two</li>
  <li>Three</li>
</ul>
```

To style your markdown, you can provide custom components that map to the generated HTML elements. Styles and components can be implemented globally, locally, and with shared layouts.

### Global styles and components

Adding styles and components in `mdx-components.tsx` will affect _all_ MDX files in your application.

```tsx filename="mdx-components.tsx" switcher
import type { MDXComponents } from 'mdx/types'
import Image, { ImageProps } from 'next/image'

// This file allows you to provide custom React components
// to be used in MDX files. You can import and use any
// React component you want, including inline styles,
// components from other libraries, and more.

export function useMDXComponents(components: MDXComponents): MDXComponents {
  return {
    // Allows customizing built-in components, e.g. to add styling.
    h1: ({ children }) => (
      <h1 style={{ color: 'red', fontSize: '48px' }}>{children}</h1>
    ),
    img: (props) => (
      <Image
        sizes="100vw"
        style={{ width: '100%', height: 'auto' }}
        {...(props as ImageProps)}
      />
    ),
    ...components,
  }
}
```

```js filename="mdx-components.js" switcher
import Image from 'next/image'

// This file allows you to provide custom React components
// to be used in MDX files. You can import and use any
// React component you want, including inline styles,
// components from other libraries, and more.

export function useMDXComponents(components) {
  return {
    // Allows customizing built-in components, e.g. to add styling.
    h1: ({ children }) => (
      <h1 style={{ color: 'red', fontSize: '48px' }}>{children}</h1>
    ),
    img: (props) => (
      <Image
        sizes="100vw"
        style={{ width: '100%', height: 'auto' }}
        {...props}
      />
    ),
    ...components,
  }
}
```

### Local styles and components

You can apply local styles and components to specific pages by passing them into imported MDX components. These will merge with and override [global styles and components](#global-styles-and-components).

<AppOnly>

```tsx filename="app/mdx-page/page.tsx" switcher
import Welcome from '@/markdown/welcome.mdx'

function CustomH1({ children }) {
  return <h1 style={{ color: 'blue', fontSize: '100px' }}>{children}</h1>
}

const overrideComponents = {
  h1: CustomH1,
}

export default function Page() {
  return <Welcome components={overrideComponents} />
}
```

```jsx filename="app/mdx-page/page.js" switcher
import Welcome from '@/markdown/welcome.mdx'

function CustomH1({ children }) {
  return <h1 style={{ color: 'blue', fontSize: '100px' }}>{children}</h1>
}

const overrideComponents = {
  h1: CustomH1,
}

export default function Page() {
  return <Welcome components={overrideComponents} />
}
```

</AppOnly>

<PagesOnly>

```tsx filename="pages/mdx-page.tsx" switcher
import Welcome from '@/markdown/welcome.mdx'

function CustomH1({ children }) {
  return <h1 style={{ color: 'blue', fontSize: '100px' }}>{children}</h1>
}

const overrideComponents = {
  h1: CustomH1,
}

export default function Page() {
  return <Welcome components={overrideComponents} />
}
```

```jsx filename="pages/mdx-page.js" switcher
import Welcome from '@/markdown/welcome.mdx'

function CustomH1({ children }) {
  return <h1 style={{ color: 'blue', fontSize: '100px' }}>{children}</h1>
}

const overrideComponents = {
  h1: CustomH1,
}

export default function Page() {
  return <Welcome components={overrideComponents} />
}
```

</PagesOnly>

### Shared layouts

<AppOnly>

To share a layout across MDX pages, you can use the [built-in layouts support](/docs/app/building-your-application/routing/layouts-and-templates#layouts) with the App Router.

```tsx filename="app/mdx-page/layout.tsx" switcher
export default function MdxLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  // Create any shared layout or styles here
  return <div style={{ color: 'blue' }}>{children}</div>
}
```

```jsx filename="app/mdx-page/layout.js" switcher
export default function MdxLayout({ children }) {
  // Create any shared layout or styles here
  return <div style={{ color: 'blue' }}>{children}</div>
}
```

</AppOnly>

<PagesOnly>

To share a layout around MDX pages, create a layout component:

```tsx filename="components/mdx-layout.tsx" switcher
export default function MdxLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  // Create any shared layout or styles here
  return <div style={{ color: 'blue' }}>{children}</div>
}
```

```jsx filename="components/mdx-layout.js" switcher
export default function MdxLayout({ children }) {
  // Create any shared layout or styles here
  return <div style={{ color: 'blue' }}>{children}</div>
}
```

Then, import the layout component into the MDX page, wrap the MDX content in the layout, and export it:

```mdx
import MdxLayout from '../components/mdx-layout'

# Welcome to my MDX page!

export default function MDXPage({ children }) {
  return <MdxLayout>{children}</MdxLayout>

}
```

</PagesOnly>

### Using Tailwind typography plugin

If you are using [Tailwind](https://tailwindcss.com) to style your application, using the [`@tailwindcss/typography` plugin](https://tailwindcss.com/docs/plugins#typography) will allow you to reuse your Tailwind configuration and styles in your markdown files.

The plugin adds a set of `prose` classes that can be used to add typographic styles to content blocks that come from sources, like markdown.

[Install Tailwind typography](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss-typography?tab=readme-ov-file#installation) and use with [shared layouts](#shared-layouts) to add the `prose` you want.

<AppOnly>

```tsx filename="app/mdx-page/layout.tsx" switcher
export default function MdxLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  // Create any shared layout or styles here
  return (
    <div className="prose prose-headings:mt-8 prose-headings:font-semibold prose-headings:text-black prose-h1:text-5xl prose-h2:text-4xl prose-h3:text-3xl prose-h4:text-2xl prose-h5:text-xl prose-h6:text-lg dark:prose-headings:text-white">
      {children}
    </div>
  )
}
```

```jsx filename="app/mdx-page/layout.js" switcher
export default function MdxLayout({ children }) {
  // Create any shared layout or styles here
  return (
    <div className="prose prose-headings:mt-8 prose-headings:font-semibold prose-headings:text-black prose-h1:text-5xl prose-h2:text-4xl prose-h3:text-3xl prose-h4:text-2xl prose-h5:text-xl prose-h6:text-lg dark:prose-headings:text-white">
      {children}
    </div>
  )
}
```

</AppOnly>

<PagesOnly>

To share a layout around MDX pages, create a layout component:

```tsx filename="components/mdx-layout.tsx" switcher
export default function MdxLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  // Create any shared layout or styles here
  return (
    <div className="prose prose-headings:mt-8 prose-headings:font-semibold prose-headings:text-black prose-h1:text-5xl prose-h2:text-4xl prose-h3:text-3xl prose-h4:text-2xl prose-h5:text-xl prose-h6:text-lg dark:prose-headings:text-white">
      {children}
    </div>
  )
}
```

```jsx filename="components/mdx-layout.js" switcher
export default function MdxLayout({ children }) {
  // Create any shared layout or styles here
  return (
    <div className="prose prose-headings:mt-8 prose-headings:font-semibold prose-headings:text-black prose-h1:text-5xl prose-h2:text-4xl prose-h3:text-3xl prose-h4:text-2xl prose-h5:text-xl prose-h6:text-lg dark:prose-headings:text-white">
      {children}
    </div>
  )
}
```

Then, import the layout component into the MDX page, wrap the MDX content in the layout, and export it:

```mdx
import MdxLayout from '../components/mdx-layout'

# Welcome to my MDX page!

export default function MDXPage({ children }) {
  return <MdxLayout>{children}</MdxLayout>

}
```

</PagesOnly >

## Frontmatter

Frontmatter is a YAML like key/value pairing that can be used to store data about a page. `@next/mdx` does **not** support frontmatter by default, though there are many solutions for adding frontmatter to your MDX content, such as:

- [remark-frontmatter](https://github.com/remarkjs/remark-frontmatter)
- [remark-mdx-frontmatter](https://github.com/remcohaszing/remark-mdx-frontmatter)
- [gray-matter](https://github.com/jonschlinkert/gray-matter)

`@next/mdx` **does** allow you to use exports like any other JavaScript component:

```mdx filename="content/blog-post.mdx" switcher
export const metadata = {
  author: 'John Doe',
}

# Blog post
```

Metadata can now be referenced outside of the MDX file:

<AppOnly>

```tsx filename="app/blog/page.tsx" switcher
import BlogPost, { metadata } from '@/content/blog-post.mdx'

export default function Page() {
  console.log('metadata: ', metadata)
  //=> { author: 'John Doe' }
  return <BlogPost />
}
```

```jsx filename="app/blog/page.js" switcher
import BlogPost, { metadata } from '@/content/blog-post.mdx'

export default function Page() {
  console.log('metadata: ', metadata)
  //=> { author: 'John Doe' }
  return <BlogPost />
}
```

</AppOnly>

<PagesOnly>

```tsx filename="pages/blog.tsx" switcher
import BlogPost, { metadata } from '@/content/blog-post.mdx'

export default function Page() {
  console.log('metadata: ', metadata)
  //=> { author: 'John Doe' }
  return <BlogPost />
}
```

```jsx filename="pages/blog.js" switcher
import BlogPost, { metadata } from '@/content/blog-post.mdx'

export default function Page() {
  console.log('metadata: ', metadata)
  //=> { author: 'John Doe' }
  return <BlogPost />
}
```

</PagesOnly>

A common use case for this is when you want to iterate over a collection of MDX and extract data. For example, creating a blog index page from all blog posts. You can use packages like [Node's `fs` module](https://nodejs.org/api/fs.html) or [globby](https://www.npmjs.com/package/globby) to read a directory of posts and extract the metadata.

> **Good to know**:
>
> - Using `fs`, `globby`, etc. can only be used server-side.
> - View the [Portfolio Starter Kit](https://vercel.com/templates/next.js/portfolio-starter-kit) template for a complete working example.

## Remark and Rehype Plugins

You can optionally provide `remark` and `rehype` plugins to transform the MDX content.

For example, you can use `remark-gfm` to support GitHub Flavored Markdown.

Since the `remark` and `rehype` ecosystem is ESM only, you'll need to use `next.config.mjs` as the configuration file.

```js filename="next.config.mjs"
import remarkGfm from 'remark-gfm'
import createMDX from '@next/mdx'

/** @type {import('next').NextConfig} */
const nextConfig = {
  // Configure `pageExtensions`` to include MDX files
  pageExtensions: ['js', 'jsx', 'md', 'mdx', 'ts', 'tsx'],
  // Optionally, add any other Next.js config below
}

const withMDX = createMDX({
  // Add markdown plugins here, as desired
  options: {
    remarkPlugins: [remarkGfm],
    rehypePlugins: [],
  },
})

// Wrap MDX and Next.js config with each other
export default withMDX(nextConfig)
```

## Remote MDX

If your MDX files or content lives _somewhere else_, you can fetch it dynamically on the server. This is useful for content stored in a separate local folder, CMS, database, or anywhere else. A popular community package for this use is [`next-mdx-remote`](https://github.com/hashicorp/next-mdx-remote#react-server-components-rsc--nextjs-app-directory-support).

> **Good to know**: Please proceed with caution. MDX compiles to JavaScript and is executed on the server. You should only fetch MDX content from a trusted source, otherwise this can lead to remote code execution (RCE).

The following example uses `next-mdx-remote`:

<AppOnly>

```tsx filename="app/mdx-page-remote/page.tsx" switcher
import { MDXRemote } from 'next-mdx-remote/rsc'

export default async function RemoteMdxPage() {
  // MDX text - can be from a local file, database, CMS, fetch, anywhere...
  const res = await fetch('https://...')
  const markdown = await res.text()
  return <MDXRemote source={markdown} />
}
```

```jsx filename="app/mdx-page-remote/page.js" switcher
import { MDXRemote } from 'next-mdx-remote/rsc'

export default async function RemoteMdxPage() {
  // MDX text - can be from a local file, database, CMS, fetch, anywhere...
  const res = await fetch('https://...')
  const markdown = await res.text()
  return <MDXRemote source={markdown} />
}
```

</AppOnly>

<PagesOnly>

```tsx filename="pages/mdx-page-remote.tsx" switcher
import { serialize } from 'next-mdx-remote/serialize'
import { MDXRemote, MDXRemoteSerializeResult } from 'next-mdx-remote'

interface Props {
  mdxSource: MDXRemoteSerializeResult
}

export default function RemoteMdxPage({ mdxSource }: Props) {
  return <MDXRemote {...mdxSource} />
}

export async function getStaticProps() {
  // MDX text - can be from a local file, database, CMS, fetch, anywhere...
  const res = await fetch('https:...')
  const mdxText = await res.text()
  const mdxSource = await serialize(mdxText)
  return { props: { mdxSource } }
}
```

```jsx filename="pages/mdx-page-remote.js" switcher
import { serialize } from 'next-mdx-remote/serialize'
import { MDXRemote } from 'next-mdx-remote'

export default function RemoteMdxPage({ mdxSource }) {
  return <MDXRemote {...mdxSource} />
}

export async function getStaticProps() {
  // MDX text - can be from a local file, database, CMS, fetch, anywhere...
  const res = await fetch('https:...')
  const mdxText = await res.text()
  const mdxSource = await serialize(mdxText)
  return { props: { mdxSource } }
}
```

</PagesOnly>

Navigating to the `/mdx-page-remote` route should display your rendered MDX.

## Deep Dive: How do you transform markdown into HTML?

React does not natively understand markdown. The markdown plaintext needs to first be transformed into HTML. This can be accomplished with `remark` and `rehype`.

`remark` is an ecosystem of tools around markdown. `rehype` is the same, but for HTML. For example, the following code snippet transforms markdown into HTML:

```js
import { unified } from 'unified'
import remarkParse from 'remark-parse'
import remarkRehype from 'remark-rehype'
import rehypeSanitize from 'rehype-sanitize'
import rehypeStringify from 'rehype-stringify'

main()

async function main() {
  const file = await unified()
    .use(remarkParse) // Convert into markdown AST
    .use(remarkRehype) // Transform to HTML AST
    .use(rehypeSanitize) // Sanitize HTML input
    .use(rehypeStringify) // Convert AST into serialized HTML
    .process('Hello, Next.js!')

  console.log(String(file)) // <p>Hello, Next.js!</p>
}
```

The `remark` and `rehype` ecosystem contains plugins for [syntax highlighting](https://github.com/atomiks/rehype-pretty-code), [linking headings](https://github.com/rehypejs/rehype-autolink-headings), [generating a table of contents](https://github.com/remarkjs/remark-toc), and more.

When using `@next/mdx` as shown above, you **do not** need to use `remark` or `rehype` directly, as it is handled for you. We're describing it here for a deeper understanding of what the `@next/mdx` package is doing underneath.

## Using the Rust-based MDX compiler (experimental)

Next.js supports a new MDX compiler written in Rust. This compiler is still experimental and is not recommended for production use. To use the new compiler, you need to configure `next.config.js` when you pass it to `withMDX`:

```js filename="next.config.js"
module.exports = withMDX({
  experimental: {
    mdxRs: true,
  },
})
```

`mdxRs` also accepts an object to configure how to transform mdx files.

```js filename="next.config.js"
module.exports = withMDX({
  experimental: {
    mdxRs: {
      jsxRuntime?: string            // Custom jsx runtime
      jsxImportSource?: string       // Custom jsx import source,
      mdxType?: 'gfm' | 'commonmark' // Configure what kind of mdx syntax will be used to parse & transform
    },
  },
})
```

> **Good to know**:
>
> This option is required when processing markdown and MDX while using [Turbopack](/docs/architecture/turbopack) (`next dev --turbopack`).

## Helpful Links

- [MDX](https://mdxjs.com)
- [`@next/mdx`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@next/mdx)
- [remark](https://github.com/remarkjs/remark)
- [rehype](https://github.com/rehypejs/rehype)
- [Markdoc](https://markdoc.dev/docs/nextjs)
